Instead of "disregarding controversial news, as was
their custom previously," pro team Web sites are "starting
to embrace it," according to David Sweet of the WALL STREET
JOURNAL INTERACTIVE, who wrote that teams "realize" that bad
news "can boost credibility, traffic -- and sometimes even
revenues." When Capitals GM George McPhee was suspended for
hitting Blackhawks coach Lorne Molleken last season, the
Capitals' official Web site "led with the suspension."
Ignite Sports Media President Hank Adams, whose company
manages the Caps' Web site, said, "We can't pretend it
didn't happen. (Team sites) are past being a p.r.
mouthpiece." Forrester Research analyst Dan O'Brien: "A lot
of companies have found that being straightforward with
customers reinforces relationships." But Sweet added that
"no doubt taboos still exist on team sites. Trade
discussions are quashed." For example, the Cubs' official
site "has mentioned none" of the speculation around a
possible trade of RF Sammy Sosa. While the Tigers' site
reported on the on-field brawl with the White Sox earlier
this season, it has "ignored" the potential trade of LF Juan
Gonzalez. Tigers Senior Dir of Marketing & Communications
Tyler Barnes said the lack of trade talk on the site is
because "we think it's private in nature" (WSJ.com, 6/28).
ONLINE NEWS: Broadband Sports has launched
LegendsDirect.com, which will provide the official Web sites
for retired sports stars, including Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar and Oscar Robertson (Broadband Sports)....CBS
SportsLine and MLB will offer a wireless version of Baseball
Live. The application enables users who have a wireless
Palm digital organizer to receive constantly updated sports
scores. The wireless version will also include animated
characters representing the ongoing games (AD AGE, 6/29).
A WEB FAN: CBS MarketWatch's John Thorsberg profiled
eFanshop.com co-Founder & CEO Marc Andres, whose company
recently signed a deal to operate the online sports store at
MSNBC.com. Andres, on the company: "The average fan doesn't
wake up saying he has to have a Kobe Bryant or Shaq jersey
and then go log onto the site they saw the night before to
buy it. He gets up in the morning, goes to his favorite
content site, reads the story. ... If there is a contextual
link showing the product -- that he can click on and buy --
that is a much stronger way to market yourself than branding
yourself as a destination." Thorsberg noted that Andres was
recently in N.Y. "wooing investors" to contribute to a $5M
round of venture funding (CBS MarketWatch, 6/24).
